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Beyond Borders

Decided to put this in the DVD player this evening after dinner, and found I still enjoy it. Clive Owen is so freakin’ sexy.

I’ve been a fan of Angelina Jolie since I first saw her in Hackers (1995). Of course since those early years she has turned in a lot of outstanding performances of some really interesting roles. To me it feels like she receives critical acclaim for too few of those roles, possibly because of her massive movie-star status. The entertainment media seems too interested spreading stories about her personal life and don’t seem to write enough about the strength of her work.

Beyond Borders (2003) is one such instance. I think it is also one of her weakest movies in terms of box office. But she’s so good and compelling in this. Her role here is also a special one as it reflects her real-life work with the refugee agency of the United Nations. She plays Sarah Jordan, an American socialite in London who decides to support humanitarian Dr. Nick Callahan (Clive Owen) in helping impoverished children. Leaving behind her sheltered life to work with him, she develops a passion both for him (who wouldn’t) and her new direction in saving lives, even if it means risking her own.

In some of the film’s tense moments, I half-expected her to whip out some guns and kick some serious ass with a sexy leer a la Lara Croft, but of course she’s not playing some female James Bond or Indiana Jones here, but a classy lady who just got out her bubble and was finding her purpose in the harsh reality of poor nations.